


Möbius

by iridilea, sapphocity



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Character Death, F/F, Healer Kim Jiwoo | Chuu, Im Yeojin & Jo Haseul are Siblings, Inspired by The Flash (DCU), Inspired by The Umbrella Academy, Jo Haseul centric, Mind Control, Slow Burn, Superpowers, Telekinesis, Teleportation, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel, X-Men Inspired, also known as: haseul's tragic anime backstory, eventual viseul but like EVENTUAL eventual, everyone has a tragic past, haseul is a plant whisperer?, past yvesoul, put 2 angst writers together and this is what you get, this is going to be a wild ride, yeojin is a mini hulk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:53:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iridilea/pseuds/iridilea, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphocity/pseuds/sapphocity
Summary: In a world where powers mean everything, a ragtag group of amateur heroes band together as the crime-fighting girl group known as LOONA.Meet Haseul and Yeojin, two sisters with wild dreams to put their superpowers to good use to make the world a better place. Along with their friends Jiwoo, Yerim and Heejin, they begin their journey using their unique skillsets to their advantage.But will things go exactly as planned?
Relationships: Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip
Comments: 17
Kudos: 26





	1. New Beginnings

“See, _this_ is what I’ve been telling you all this time, we should put our powers to good use! You can have your flower shop or whatever, and maybe help Miss Irene down the road with her roses from time to time, but that’s boring! We could do so much more, you know! The-”

Haseul groaned in annoyance as her younger sister continued babbling about her proposal, shutting herself off from the seemingly endless ramble. There was no way her idea could actually work out, and she knew it was somewhat of a childish fantasy Yeojin had always had. Besides, what could a _plant whisperer_ do on a battlefield? Make them photosynthesise aggressively?

The booming voice of her sister pulled her from her thoughts.

“Hey, are you even listening to me?” Yeojin scoffed, scowling with exaggeration.

“Hm? Oh, you were talking about that idea you had, yeah,” Haseul mumbled, still lost in her thoughts.

“That was _so_ two minutes ago. I was asking what you were cooking tonight, I’m starving.”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t know, maybe pizza. Yerim, Jiwoo and Heejin are coming over, aren’t they?” She picked at her nails absentmindedly, trying to recollect her thoughts. 

“Haseul…” Yeojin whined, drawing out her name for dramatic effect, “you said we’d have fried rice yesterday.” Haseul had to contain her laughter, as Yeojin appeared to be genuinely upset at the change in menu.

“I did?” she widened her eyes in disbelief, “oh crap, I think I did-”

“Nah, I’m just messing with you. I’m sure they don’t mind pizza.”

“You’re a little shit, you know that?” Haseul sighed heavily, turning away from Yeojin so she couldn’t see the smirk evident on her face.

“My sole purpose in life is to annoy you, you know? _‘Til death do us part,_ ” her younger sister shrugged, hopping up on a slightly elevated part of the pathway. “You really should be used to it by now, considering you’ve known me for what? Eighteen years?”

“It feels more like an eternity.” Haseul rolled her eyes, ruffling Yeojin’s bangs while being careful not to mess up her space buns. “Plus, last time I checked, we weren’t married.”

“So it’s a no, then?” Yeojin looked at the older woman with her mouth agape in apparent shock. “What am I going to do with the ring?”

“You should have gone into acting. Maybe that’ll put your talent to good use.”

“Last time I tried, I broke the set. Turns out running in heavily wired areas with super strength might not have been the smartest move.” She grinned widely, before she focused her gaze on her sister. “I dunno, I don’t think anything is right for me. Unless…” She had that evil glint in her eyes, and Haseul sighed again, knowing exactly what she was going to say next.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. We’ve been through this a million times, my answer is still no.”

“Come on! Please? How about an arm wrestle, I win and we-”

“Yeojin! Haseul!” 

“Heekkie!” Yeojin went running at her friend, who skillfully evaded her before she skidded to a stop.

“Do you want to kill me, you miniature sized Hulk?” The girl tutted before remarking in a deep voice, “do you _ever_ realise how strong you are, flinging yourself at little old me like that? You _do_ know I'm 'defenseless' as is,” she rolled her eyes.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting!” A new voice announced, her chipper voice unmistakable.

“Hey, Jiwoo,” Haseul greeted her with a wave, significantly calmer than her tinier counterpart.

Yeojin didn’t even say a word before she flung herself at the newcomer, before coming to a forced halt mid-jump.

“Hey, don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?” The final addition to their group stepped out of the shadows, her right eye glowing purple signalling the use of her power. It would have been menacing if not for the girl’s round cheeks and eye-smile as she greeted the group.

“Yerim! Let me down!” Yeojin flailed around in her position in mid-air, the feeling of weightlessness making her a bit nauseous. Haseul couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her sister struggling against Yerim’s power, but decided to diffuse the situation all the same.

“Put her down, let’s head inside.”

With that, Yerim let the girl drop to the ground. Not a moment passed before Yeojin sprinted toward the girl responsible for the action, embracing her in a somewhat tight hug.

“Can’t… breathe…” Her friend wheezed, attempting to return the gesture to the much smaller- but much stronger- girl.

“Yeojin…” Haseul sighed, walking over to pry her sister away from her latest ‘victim’.

“What are we having tonight?” Jiwoo asked, stomach growling from hunger.

“Pizza, apparently,” Yeojin shrugged, “sound good to you?”

“Any food sounds good to me!” Jiwoo beamed at her, to which Heejin stifled a giggle.

To no one’s surprise, Yeojin mentioned her ‘genius plan’ once again at the dinner table. Haseul rolled her eyes, refusing to respond as she took another bite of her food. Jiwoo, however, raised her eyebrow in intrigue.

“I’m sorry, what plan?”

“Surely you know of the infamous Jinsoul and Yves, right?” Yeojin tried to talk through a mouthful of pizza, “I wanna be just like them!”

“You have to get a girlfriend first,” Haseul chuckled, not missing the way Yerim diverted her gaze in discomfort, her cheeks flushing.

“Didn’t they break up?” Heejin asked, oblivious to Yerim’s distress, scrolling on her phone. She was always up-to-date on the latest information, even gaining access to the Superpower database with a fake account.

Yeojin continued, completely unphased by the teasing. “Maybe they did, but you can’t deny how cool they were.”

“I’ll give you that,” Yerim mumbled.

“So… You’re saying you want us to become vigilantes?” Jiwoo raised an eyebrow.

“Well, not really. Like fighting crime but without the killing. I don’t wanna kill anyone, and I know you don’t either.”

“Do you know she’s come up with a name and everything? She’s really insistent,” Haseul huffed, “it’s all I’ve been hearing about for the past three weeks.”

Soft laughter filled the room upon hearing that as the group were more than aware of Yeojin’s habits. Knowing her, within the next few weeks she would have a new goal that she would dedicate her whole life to.

“So… what is the name?” Jiwoo seemed deep in thought, her expression serious for once.

“Well, okay... Promise you’ll tell me if it’s bad, or cringey or… whatever. But I was thinking, I really like the sound of-”

“Get on with it!” Haseul chimed.

“Don’t interrupt me!” Yeojin frowned at her sister, before continuing, “as I was saying… I really like the name LOONA.” The table turned silent, Yeojin stared at nothing in particular while anticipating the response.

“LOONA?” Jiwoo smiled.

“Yep.”

“I like it. Where do I sign up?” Jiwoo grinned at her friend, as Haseul choked on her orange juice. The rest of the group could only glance at each other in slight worry as Haseul’s coughing fit filled the room.

“You… okay bro?” Yeojin tapped her older sister on the shoulder.

“What.” Haseul finally muttered, her voice strained as she fought off another cough.

“I think it’s not a bad idea, actually,” Heejin thought out loud, “You guys _are_ going to include me, right?”

“ _What?_ ” Haseul nearly shrieked, standing up from her chair, her cough finally subsiding although her eyes watered. “You… you? You-” her eyes darted from Yeojin, to Jiwoo, to Heejin and back to Yeojin once again.

“What about it?” Heejin scrunched up her brows.

“I thought you were going to be on my side for this, Heej,” Haseul crossed her arms, “You of all people should know how dangerous it is to fight against others with powers.”

“I mean, it isn’t a _terrible_ idea,” Yerim finally chimed. “If it were to become a thing, I want in!” Haseul slumped back down into her chair, her mouth ever so slightly agape as she glared at Yerim.

“Not you too, I trusted you Yerim!”

“Alright then, that makes four of us.”

“It’s four versus one Haseul, you lose!” Yeojin pointed dramatically at her sister, who was still in awe. 

“My answer is still… oh my god, you are _not_ using the puppy dog eyes on me.” Not one, but four wide, sad gazes glued to Haseul’s own. “Jiwoo, not you… I trusted you, man!”

The group looked expectantly at their oldest member, Yeojin’s pleading eyes in particular striking a chord in her heart. “Okay! Okay, shit. If you guys are so insistent, convince me how you would stay out of trouble and not get hurt,” Haseul caved in to the peer pressure, challenging Yeojin one last time.

“Okay… First of all, Jiwoo can use her power as a healer,” her younger sister looked at the girl in question, who smiled brightly. “That would solve a lot of our problems, like when we get cuts or scraps or like, I don’t know, a bullet wound.”

“A _bullet wound?_ ” Haseul looked like she was about to pass out.

“Plus, Jiwoo hates fighting. She was born for this role!” Yeojin continued, ignoring Haseul’s growing panic.

“Fine. But what about the actual fighting bit? You’ve never fought anyone your whole life.”

“I’ve got that covered too. Heejin is really good at strategy, because of all the videos she’s watched of vigilantes fighting and stuff. She knows how to coordinate all of us.”

“That’s true,” Heejin puffed out her chest proudly, as Yeojin continued.

“Yerim can lift things, so if we get stuck under anything she can always get us out…?” She sounded slightly uncertain, but her friend nodded at her and beamed.

“Huh. What do you have planned for me then?” Haseul asked, smirking a little as she saw her younger sister’s face light up like a shopping mall on Christmas Eve.

“W- well… you can… grow some plants?” Yeojin stuttered, not expecting her sister to basically _agree_ with her.

Haseul feigned a frown, “excuse me? I can do more than that.” Yeojin raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for her to continue. “Well… I can…” she trailed off.

“Haseul can lead us! We need a leader, Haseul is basically filling the role as it is.” Haseul stared at Yerim wide-eyed, who continued. “Think! A leader who is level-headed and cares for us all, we will be unbreakable!”

“That’s true!” Yeojin agreed, “We need a good leader. I was thinking of taking that spot- wait, why are you laughing?”

The girls’ giggles filled the room, and even Haseul felt a sense of lightness. Was she excited? Scared? Both? She didn’t care. Yeojin’s idea seemed like it could actually be fun, and she could actually use the job anyway to fill up the time before she could open her store.

There was one thing Haseul was certain of, if this plan were to continue.

“Okay, but no killing.”

“Obviously! We aren’t monsters,” Yeojin stated, all eyes landed on her. “... What? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Not long after Yeojin registered the five of them under the name LOONA in the Superpower database, they got their first job as a group. It was around noon on a Saturday that they received a call about a bank robbery downtown, a hostage situation by a few non-powered individuals that might go out of hand. _Easy enough for all of them to handle,_ she had thought.

Haseul felt her heart beat out of her chest as she eyed the area. She was ready for this. Or was she? Was she really ready? What if she wasn’t ready? What if-

“Testing-” A static voice sounded from her earpiece. “Testing!” their navigator raised her voice, trying again. Hearing Heejin as if she was right next to her instantly calmed Haseul down and she chuckled softly to herself. “... Can anyone hear me? If so, please reply. Testing-”

“I can hear you,” Haseul responded.

“Okay, good!” Heejin poked her head out from between the alleyway. “Equipment all clear! I’m connected to your cameras too. We got this!” Heejin raised a fist in support of her group before ducking back down and out of sight.

“Okay everyone, are you all prepared?” Haseul spoke up, putting on as confident of a voice as she could possibly muster.

“Fuck yes!” Yeojin boomed, earning an instant scowl from Haseul.

“Yeojin! Language!” she glared at the girl.

“You say ‘shit’ all the time,” her younger sister retorted, pouting a little.

“Fair point.”

“Okay, so… Fuck yes!” Yeojin shouted once again, the rest of the group following suit. Haseul sighed loudly as she did a final check of all the things they needed.

“Do you all have your masks with you?” she asked, pulling out her masquerade-esque mask with flowers embroidered on it. From her bag, Yeojin retrieved what looked like to be a Purge mask from a Halloween store- _fair enough_ , Haseul thought, though she didn’t look the slightest bit intimidating with the two space buns nestled snugly on her head. Yerim had half her face covered in yet _another_ dress-up mask, this time in the style of the Phantom of the Opera, and Jiwoo… well, she had a gas mask on, so she looked the most ridiculous out of them all.

“ _Hah!_ Yeojin looks like Michael Myers!” Heejin announced into the radio system. “And Jiwoo… _Oh..._ Man, you look like you jumped straight out of Resident Evil.”

“Thank you!” Jiwoo chirped.

“Not a compliment, but okay!” Heejin giggled. “Yerim- I mean, Choerry, how are you doing?”

“Honest answer? My stomach hurts,” she grimaced, “it always hurts when I’m nervous. And thanks for picking up on the Choerry thing, by the way.”

“Why ‘Choerry’ anyway?”

“I don’t like cherries, so nobody will ever guess it’s me! Reverse psychology.”

“Yeah, and I’m Chuu! Nice to meet Chuu!” Jiwoo grinned widely, though no one could see it under the ghastly thing covering her face. The way the mask distorted her voice terrified the rest of the group a bit more than it should have, though they didn’t dare admit it.

Heejin booed into the microphone.

“... Do we... need names too?” Haseul turned to her younger sister, who shrugged.

“Nah. I’m a bad bitch, they can’t kill me. I’m Yeojin the destroyer!”

They could hear Heejin groaning faintly through their earpieces at her comment. “Is it too late to decline your offer?” 

“Hey- You asked to join!” Yeojin pouted, “but really though, after we finish this thing… we should get matching masks or something so this doesn’t look like we just walked out of a Halloween store.”

“I look the least ridiculous here,” Haseul shrugged, “remember, you _chose_ your masks.”

“Dude, we’re broke as hell. We didn’t have any choice.”

“Okay, guys, focus. I’m going to tell you when, and where to drop in. I have eyes on the security cameras- these dumbasses forgot to set a firewall so I got in pretty easily. You have two hostages in the back room, so Yerim, Yeojin, go for them first. Haseul, there are some plants near the front door- see if you can make them do something.”

“... I’ve never tried that before. Are you sure it’s possible? It won’t hurt them, right?” Haseul frowned, doubting herself.

“Plants have no nerves. They can’t feel pain,” Heejin deadpanned, “besides, you can always fix them.”

“Okay,” she breathed before climbing down to her designated hiding spot and focusing her attention on the small pine trees. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and raising her hand. _I really do hope this works._

“Jiwoo…” Heejin trailed off.

“Yeah?”

“I dunno, just be careful.”

“Thanks, I will!” their designated healer beamed, “Haseul, I’m right behind you in case anyone gets hurt.”

Taking another look at their surroundings, Heejin ran the many possible scenarios through her head. This could either go perfectly, or horribly wrong. Either way, what would be the worst thing that could happen? “Okay, it’s time. Go.”

Descending slowly with the help of Yerim, Yeojin knocked out the two lackeys standing guard in front of the hostages swiftly as Yerim snapped the zip ties around the hostages’ hands with her telekinetic powers. The two girls they saved cried out in joy, muffled by the tape on their mouths which Yerim also removed.

“Choerry, Yeojin in,” Yeojin whispered into her comms, “Haseul, what’s going on on your end?”

“I’m trying,” she heard her sister groan, “these branches… they won’t budge!”

“Fuck,” she cursed. Their first mission wasn’t going so well. “It’s okay. Keep going. Choerry and I are coming to where you are.”

Yeojin grabbed both unconscious criminals by the collar, tossing them aside as gently as she could. Yerim winced as one of them hit their back on a metal trolley, the _clang_ echoing through the room.

“Oh, shit,” Yeojin swore again, “let’s hope that didn’t alert anyone.”

Knowing her luck, it did the exact opposite. The rest of the masked criminals in the lobby turned towards the sound and started to advance towards it, shouting to each other, “We have company!”

 _Oh fuck. Oh fucking shit. No no no no no. This was not happening right now._ Yeojin and Yerim looked at each other in panic, debating their next move. Being the ever so bright one out of the two, Yeojin picked up the same metal trolley with ease, flinging it wildly towards one of the people they saw advancing towards them, while Yerim adjusted her trajectory in order for it not to kill them. It crashed into one of the masked figure’s torso, sending them flying backwards and knocking them unconscious- well, that was one out of many. Five more to go.

“You have got to be kidding me Yeojin, I _told_ you to lay low,” Heejin hissed through their earpieces, “you’re going to attract them all to where you’re at, like moths to a- well. A harmless window, because there’s no _way_ you can take all of them. Haseul, what’s your status?”

“I- I’m trying!” Oh god, she felt like she was about to cry. Some power this was, not being able to activate at the most crucial of times. She begged whatever higher deity there was above to let her save her younger sister. Just-

Stretching a hand out in her panic, Haseul felt a sudden warmth spread throughout her whole body, her mind going completely blank for a moment as she heard a ghastly crackle from her right, towards the entrance. She didn’t dare open her eyes as she heard one, two, three, four, _five_ impact thuds and muted yells from what she assumed were all the men in the lobby. Not a moment later, the warmth left her, instantly replaced with a soft tremble as fear overtook her senses.

The whole group fell silent as they gawked at Haseul, who sat in a squat position, seemingly unaware of the events that happened earlier.

“What the…” Heejin whispered.

Haseul opened her eyes to see what the fuss was about, only to find she could no longer spot the guards. “Huh? Where did they go? Did you guys get them already?”

“Oh my gosh, Haseul-” Jiwoo breathed.

Haseul frowned. “What is it?”

“Did you know you could do that?”

“Do what?”

“That!”

Haseul looked around, eyes wide as she took in the situation around her. One of the pine tree saplings at the entrance had completely broken out of its pot, its roots burrowing deep into the ground in what seemed like a matter of seconds. The tree looked almost fully grown- but instead of growing upwards, its branches stretched towards the men and trapped them against the walls of the building. As they struggled against its grip, their shouts were muffled by the clusters of leaves wrapped around their mouths, piercing slightly into their skin.

“Holy shit, did I do that?” Haseul felt sick at the sight. She never wanted to hurt anyone.

“You…” Yeojin breathed, “you’re fucking amazing! I knew we were related!”

“What?” Her sister chuckled, her legs finally going weak as she slumped against the wall, “Of course we’re related, you dummy.”

“You know, Haseul…” Jiwoo scratched her head, “you didn’t have to go that hard. I can feel at least fifteen broken bones across these five men.”

“I don’t think you should be healing them, Chuu?” Heejin furrowed her brows.

“Huh? But they’re hurt…” their healer pouted, turning her attention to the hostages that they freed earlier.

“You know, I think we should call the police in now…?” Yerim suggested helpfully, “They might want to arrest them.”

“No! Come on, we got this!” Yeojin whined.

“She’s right, Yeojin,” Haseul sighed weakly from her spot near the entrance, “I’ll just make sure they won’t move.”

The tree slowly retreated to its original form as extra tendrils wrapped themselves around the men’s bodies and wrists, binding them and restricting their movement as they fell to the floor without the branches of the pine tree holding them up.

“Damn it, super strength sounds so _lame_ compared to that,” Yeojin complained, “no fair, you took all the cool genes.”

“What does that have to do with… You know what? I don’t even want to know.” Heejin sighed, “Police have been called, they’ll be here soon.”

The paper later that day celebrated the success of a new crime-fighting group called LOONA, which Yeojin never failed to mention during their obligatory interview. They didn’t make the headline, which was reserved for only the most famous of vigilantes.

“I take this as a huge success!” Yeojin practically screeched once they made it back home, waving that day’s copy of the news above her head.

“I hate to say it, but maybe this was a good idea,” Haseul grinned warmly at the girls.

What they didn’t know was coincidentally, a cat-eyed girl had picked up the paper that day.

“Crime-fighting girl group, LOONA…” she hummed to herself as the metal plate on her black choker glinted in the sunlight. “Sounds interesting.” She giggled, as the alley she was in was filled with a bright yellow light, as a small tabby kitten pranced away into the street.

“I found someone who might want to join our group!” Yeojin came to them one day, beaming brighter than a thousand suns.

“Ooh! Who? And where?” Jiwoo peeked out from the back room as the rest of them walked towards the living room where their youngest stood.

“Her name is Hyunjin, I think she’d make a great addition to LOONA,” Yeojin smiled, holding what looked like a kitten in her arms. “I found her in an alleyway not too far from here,” she added quietly. The whole room went silent as the rest of the girls glanced at each other warily.

“... You know, if you wanted a pet you could have just asked,” Haseul snickered, peering carefully at the dark tabby cat.

“No, wait! Let her do her thing. Trust me.” Yeojin smirked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What thing-”

The kitten leaped out of Yeojin’s arms and onto the floor. For a second, Haseul could have sworn she saw the animal’s body distort before a bright yellow glow emanated from where it once was. Haseul clenched her eyes shut. 

Rubbing her eyes groggily, a girl yawned as she stood up from where the cat had disappeared, “Uh… hi. I’m Hyunjin. You can call me ‘Aeongie’ if you want, haha.”

Haseul noted that the girl avoided eye contact entirely, seemingly staring just to the side of where the leader stood. “... Aeongie?”

Hyunjin smiled awkwardly, raising her hand to her own face. “Sorry… I can change it if you think it’s cringey.”

“I like that name, it’s cute!” Heejin’s deep voice filled the room. Hyunjin looked up at the girl with a start, their eyes meeting briefly before she hurriedly diverted her gaze once again.

“I… uh… Thank you,” she stuttered, Heejin’s eyes squinted as she smiled widely at the new girl. 

“Don’t mention it! I’m Heejin by the way,” she added, before walking out of the room.

 _Heejin…_ Hyunjin’s heart couldn’t help but accelerate as she watched her walk away.

“Remember, you don’t have to join us. You do have a choice-”

“I’m in,” she nodded aggressively, returning Haseul’s gaze for the first time in their meeting. “I am _so_ in.”

“Okay then Hyunjin, welcome to LOONA.”

Watching as the girls led the new girl into her home, Haseul felt a smile push its way onto her face. Seeing her friends so happy, making new friends, helping people, it all made the leader’s heart feel full.

For the longest time, Haseul had been looking for a purpose, for happiness. Feeling the energy run through her veins, she was certain she had found it.

She didn’t plan on losing this feeling anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow us on twitter @iridilea and @orbeets and tell us what you think
> 
> iri’s cc: https://curiouscat.qa/iridilea  
> bee’s cc: https://curiouscat.qa/sapphocity


	2. Infiltration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LOONA receives a new mission - infiltrate a large scale company and find out what they're up to behind the scenes. Things go horribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i know this is like, the second chapter but tw for major character death and guns. good luck - iri

“You should really be careful, Yeojin,” Jiwoo frowned as she pressed her glowing hands to their youngest member’s leg, where she sported a long gash from a bandit’s machete.

“How was I supposed to know that the fucker was there?” Yeojin let out a pained chuckle, “but anyway, his loss. I’m not the one in prison,” she stuck her tongue out at no one in particular.

“That’s true,” Jiwoo giggled, “well, be glad it wasn’t that deep. You’re not gonna have a scar from this.”

“Aw. I was thinking it’d be awesome to have one.”

“Haseul’s already worried sick about you, and you say that you want a scar…” a flash of light, and Hyunjin appeared next to them, holding what seemed to be a pack of biscuits… in her mouth?

The shapeshifter noticed that her friends were looking at her strangely, Yeojin seeming a little grossed out. “Hey, cats don’t have hands,” she explained, throwing her hands up defensively, but not before handing the food over to Yeojin, who accepted it with a “thanks”.

“Okay, all done,” Jiwoo beamed up at her, “nice work out there. We really showed them who’s boss!” her last line was quite uncharacteristic of the bright smile she wore on her face, but Yeojin accepted it nonetheless.

“Yeojin,” A firm voice spoke.

“Uh-oh. Hey... Haseul,” Yeojin finger gunned awkwardly at her sister, who showed no signs of amusement.

“Don’t you ‘hey Haseul’ me, young lady. What were you thinking? Again!” Haseul’s voice was rising in pitch as she paced furiously back and forth before where her sister sat. 

“I couldn’t see them!,” Yeojin pressed her lips together, “they were hiding, bro how the fuck do you think I’d be able to notice?”

“Gosh dang, this sounds like an Among Us game chat,” Heejin commented, walking into the room a little later than Haseul.

“Well if you  _ listened _ to me when I  _ told _ you there was someone there, you’d have avoided this as a whole but noooo, you  _ had _ to run in all willy nilly and let yourself get chopped up like that!”

“ _ Nyeh neh neh _ ,” Yeojin mocked her sister’s tone, sticking her tongue out at her as she stood up on her own two feet, “I’m fine  _ now _ , so what’s the problem? Jesus Haseul, you’re sooo uptight sometimes.”

“Me? Uptight?  _ You’re _ the one who’s constantly making me worry about you! If you followed instructions-”

“Okay guys… break it up,” Yerim sighed, freezing the two girls in their tracks before they could move closer to each other in the heat of the argument, “Yeojin, don’t make me throw you.” Her friend closed her mouth before she could say another word.

“Whatever,” Haseul groaned before turning to leave. 

“And where do you think you’re going?” Yerim pulled her back to her sister, “Apologise to each other.”

Haseul brushed her off and continued to the exit, the slam of the door signalling her leave. Not a moment passed before she forcibly reentered, looking at the ground in shame. “Okay, whatever,” she mumbled. 

“That’s a strange way of apologising,” Yerim huffed.

“Okay, I’m sorry. You just… really scare me sometimes, Yeojin,” Haseul sighed. Yeojin actually seemed to take her words seriously as her face fell and she approached her sister.

“I’m sorry too. I’ll be more careful, I promise.” Yeojin smiled at her sister, who snatched the tiny girl into a firm hug. Someone started to clap their hands together from across the room.

Yeojin sighed, “entertained?” She turned to face Hyunjin, Heejin and Jiwoo who all sat on the table eating snacks, their eyes glued to the scene.

“Mmhmm!” Jiwoo beamed through a mouthful of biscuits.

“Is it weird that I feel… strangely emotional?” Hyunjin muttered, prompting a boisterous laugh from Heejin who aggressively wrapped her arms around the shapeshifter.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Yerim commented as she released her hold on the two sisters, who had gone back to being friendly with each other, Haseul giving Yeojin a noogie while her younger sister had her in a half-embrace.

Over the next few weeks, the group received several requests for their work, each mission going better than the last. Hyunjin fit right in with the group, although she was glued to Heejin’s side more often than not. Haseul had barely exchanged more than a few words with the girl, but she was happy to see her getting along with Heejin.

“Our next mission is to infiltrate Blockberry Co.,” Yeojin read off her laptop screen, “apparently they’re being suspected of corruption and we have to bust them while they’re in the middle of doing this shady ass trade that’s supposed to happen tonight?”

Heejin shot a confused look at Hyunjin who shrugged in response, before taking the device from their youngest member and scanning through the document. “Oh, never mind. Sounds about right to me.”

“So… you’re saying that they’re about to do a deal with someone and we have to investigate?” Yerim tried, to which Yeojin beamed at her as if to say ‘that’s right!’.

“That’s pretty high profile, you know, considering that we’ve only been on like, what. Five missions?” Haseul scratched her head, getting a bit worried. The last few missions had been nothing but close calls and near misses.

“We’ll be fine, this will be a piece of cake!” Yeojin beamed.

“Easy for you to say, little miss Hulk,” Heejin frowned, “the amount of times I’ve told you not to run straight into the enemy is astounding.”

“What’s even more astounding is how she fails to listen every single time,” Haseul added.

Hyunjin added, “well, there’s also the amount of yelling she does.”

“Really, Hyunjin? Not you too,” Yeojin complained, “I even got you cat food.”

“Yeah, cat food that tasted like shit,” the shapeshifter stuck her tongue out at her friend.

Haseul guffawed at her comment, glad that the once shy girl was warming up to them. She didn’t know what happened to her for her to be so naturally untrusting, but it seemed the girl was really making herself at home.

“You can tell they’re sisters,” Heejin leaned into Hyunjin, who stiffened at the contact. “They’re nothing if not dramatic.” Hyunjin chuckled, smiling so wide that her cheeks hurt.

“Okay, so what’s the plan, Heej?” Jiwoo slung an arm around her friend as they crowded around the dinner table.

“I’ve come up with this,” the strategist unrolled a huge map of the building they were supposed to infiltrate, “As usual, Yeojin and Yerim are together because I can’t trust you when you’re alone,” she shot a glance at their resident gremlin, “would you both be fine with creating a diversion?” The girls nodded, so she continued, “Haseul, you’re in charge of the plant-y areas and Jiwoo, you can just… float around, I guess. See if there’s anyone who needs healing.”

“Fine by me!” Jiwoo beamed.

“... What about me?” Hyunjin cocked her head to the side in animal-like curiosity.

“You’re going to have the most important task of all,” Heejin answered her, not skipping a beat, “you have the advantage of stealth, so I need you to sneak into the main room where the deal is happening, wearing this,” she produced a tiny camera being held on a string, “so I can get the footage of the deal from right under their noses.” At that, the shapeshifter’s eyes lit up and she could barely contain her smile.

“Okay,” Haseul nodded, “any contingency?”

“I don’t think there’s any need. As long as we stick to the plan, and I mean it this time,  _ Yeojin _ ,” she glared at their youngest, whose mouth hung open in shock at her statement, “we will be fine.”

“Boo, that’s discrimination,” Yeojin stuck her tongue out at her, “just because I’m the youngest doesn’t mean you get to bully me.”

“Well, if that’s everything, let’s get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” Haseul stood up from her seat, stretching a little.

The next morning, the group hid out a short distance from the building. Once again, Haseul found herself barely containing her nerves, although she knew things always worked out.

Heejin retreated to her van that she had recently purchased to store her equipment. Luckily, the payment for their work was more than generous, so they could afford much better gadgets than what they had before.

“Alright, we all remember the plan, yes?” Haseul raised her voice ever so slightly.

“Yes!” Everyone announced in unison.

“Good. And remember, Yeojin, stick with Yerim and don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Yeojin wrapped Haseul in a teasing hug, to which the older jokingly pushed her away. 

“Save the affections for later, when we’ve kicked their asses,” the leader grinned.

“So, let’s go! We got this, as usual,” Heejin spoke down the radio.

With that, Hyunjin nodded, a blinding glow radiating from her body. The next moment, a bird stood in her place, taking off and flying in the direction of the building without hesitation.

Haseul hung back to watch as everyone made their way to the building, only following once she was sure she had eyes on everyone. “Heejin? Keep me updated on everyone’s positions, please.”

“Of course!” Their navigator gave her a thumbs up before disappearing back into the van.

Steeling her nerves, Haseul made her way to the window she was tasked with infiltrating, climbing up the vines she grew along the side of the building. “This never gets any easier,” she muttered as she pulled her body up and into the open window, the vines retreating as soon as she rolled into the vacant corridor.

“Haseul, in,” she reported to Heejin, who responded with a “Roger that.”

Squeezing the pouch filled with a mixture of seeds and soil that Yeojin made for her, she prayed for the best to happen. Hopefully, they could finish the job and get out of there quick- it wasn’t like she had no faith in her sister, but she was a bit worried for her.

Walking as silently as she could, knowing that Heejin had already looped the cameras in the area she was in in advance, she could then scout around for any intel that she needed.

“The plan is going well, sir,” she heard from her left, to which she immediately looked over to- but there was no one there. Strange.

Backing up against a wall, it was almost as if she could hear and see an entire conversation going on if she concentrated hard enough.  _ That’s strange, _ she thought to herself,  _ there’s nothing going on around me, but why do I feel like I’m on a- _

A windowsill. That’s where she felt like she was. With the sound of cars passing in the roads behind her, the sun beaming onto her back, which didn’t make much sense considering she was in a dimly lit corridor, facing towards the windows.

There were two men in front of her. Well, not in front of her but in front of whatever she was able to connect to.

_ “The deal is about to begin,”  _ the man in shades told his subordinate,  _ “don’t you dare slip up this time.” _

_ “I won’t,”  _ she heard the person saying confidently,  _ “me and my team-” _

_ “The experiments?” _ the man asked,  _ “Mx. Kim, are you sure about that?” _

“Experiments?” Haseul whispered to no one in particular, “what experiments?”

_ “They are very competent, despite their origins,”  _ the person- Mx. Kim shook their head,  _ “don’t you think it’s high time we revealed that we’re doing this for people like them?” _

_ “Pity be to the powerless,” _ the man agreed with them.

“Holy shit,” Haseul gasped in shock, “Heejin, they’re talking about experiments… on people who used to be…”

“Powerless?” Heejin’s voice crackled over the earpiece, “yeah, I know.”

“You… know?”

“I do. I’ll talk to you about this later. How the hell are you listening in?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll keep doing it,” she explained matter-of-factly.

“Any idea where they are?”

“Probably close. I’ll keep a look around,” Haseul nodded, though she knew that Heejin couldn’t see it.

_ An office… _ she had to look for an office that had a window facing the sun. She got up from her position on the floor, dusting herself off to seem like she hadn’t been sitting there for a while. Concentrating once again, she tuned in to the conversation- only to find out that the two people had left.

“Shit,” she cursed, hiding behind a protruded part of the wall as she heard footsteps walking towards the corridor she was in. Thankfully, whoever that was didn’t walk towards her, or she’d be toast. Peeking out from her hiding spot, she saw the same two people that she heard talking earlier-  _ so that’s where they came from _ , she thought to herself. Just a little peep wouldn’t hurt, so she could find out how exactly the whole ordeal earlier happened and how she could do it again.

She waited until the two figures disappeared into the distance before rounding a corner, nearly barrelling straight into a sleeping guard on his plastic chair. This was making her job almost  _ too _ easy.

There it was- a lone room in the distance with a small glass window on the door. Peeking into the room, she saw a windowsill which had an assortment of succulents perched on top, sunlight shining through and onto the small plants.  _ Huh. _

Backtracking in her footsteps in order not to wake the guard, Haseul decided to sneak towards where she last saw the two people in order to find out more about what they were doing, but not before reporting to Heejin again about her recent discovery.

“Hey, I just found out I can sense things through plants.”

“Elaborate?” Heejin’s voice was quizzical, as she questioned what exactly she meant.

“I think she’s saying she can astral project onto plants,” Yeojin added, not very helpfully.

“That makes a  _ lot _ of sense, Yeojin,” their navigator quipped sarcastically, “how did you even get that?”

“I thought I was hallucinating a whole conversation but it turned out the people were real! And like, they walked out from a room with a bunch of succulents and stuff, so.”

“That is… slightly concerning, but okay,” Heejin chuckled, “you do you. What did those people say? That they had a team of… experiments?”

“Yeah. I’m going to go and find out what exactly they meant.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

On the other side of the building, Hyunjin landed silently on a window ledge, looking into the building through the window. She was sure to face the window with her body to allow Heejin to get a good view of anything that could be occurring.

Nothing too interesting seemed to be happening from where she stood, so she took off once more and circled the building in search of an entry.

Luck seemed to be on her side as she noticed one of the previously closed windows now hung open, practically a direct invitation for her to enter. Without hesitation, she retracted her wings and proceeded to dive down to the opening. She easily glided through the gap, avoiding crashing into a guard that had their back turned to her by propelling herself up above a cabinet and keeping low. The guard turned around in confusion, searching for the source of the strange sound, but decided it must have been nothing as they turned and left.

Hyunjin ruffled her feathers as she watched them leave, brainstorming her options.  _ Oh! This could work. _

Focusing all of her energy, she felt her body begin to distort and shift before the telltale yellow glow of her transformation appeared. After a few moments of the uncomfortable act, a small gecko now stood in place of the bird.

Having not attempted to access that form before, it was an exhausting act despite the size of the creature; Hyunjin was pleasantly surprised that it went to plan on her first attempt. Shaking her head, she double checked that the tiny camera and microphone were secured in place before hesitantly approaching the wall and placing her hand on it. To her surprise, it worked, and the next thing she knew she was traversing the wall with ease, searching for her target location.

Once she made it to a large room filled with dozens of shady looking individuals, Hyunjin knew almost instantly that she had found the right place. She maneuvered silently up to one of the many structural beams that littered the ceiling, before carefully aiming the camera around her neck to face the group. 

Now all she had to do was sit there and remain unnoticed. 

After sneaking in through the back door, Yerim made her way down the hallway, Yeojin’s footsteps trailing faintly behind her. Truth be told, she was a bit nervous- as she always was whenever they had to go out in the field. But being around her friends reassured her just enough to keep her going.

Guards soon came into their vision as they turned a corner, stood directly outside a windowless door.

“Hmmm… Definitely seems sketchy to me,” Yeojin whispered.

“Yep,” Yerim frowned, before speaking into her microphone, “Heejin! Are we on point?”

Static sounded briefly in her earpiece, before the navigator responded, “almost, I would try to subdue those guards before anything else. Is that okay?”

“Yep, absolutely-”

Before she knew it Yeojin charged from where she stood, rushing at the two men who hurriedly aimed their guns at the girl. Acting fast, Yerim pointed their weapons upwards aggressively before they could fire at her friend, effectively making them knock themselves in the face as Yeojin barrelled towards them, sending them flying into the wall with a slight push.

The men fell to the ground, both unconscious.

“Nice teamwork,” Yeojin beamed at her partner, to which Heejin scoffed at over the comms.

Yerim groaned, hurrying over to the men and hastily reaching into her backpack. Pulling out duct tape, she effectively rendered them immobile and motioned for Yeojin to follow her down the long, winding hallway.

“Guys, you’re almost there,” Heejin spoke up. “Be careful, I don’t have visuals past this point. I’ll try to hack into the cameras, but it might take a while.”

“Oh,  _ fuck _ ,” Yeojin’s Converse screeched to a halt as she saw what was awaiting them at the next turn. 

Rows of guards stood their ground before them and the girls were barely able to stay in one piece as they almost ran straight into the ambush. Yerim tensed as the sound of dozens of footsteps approaching them echoed through the hallway, looking towards Yeojin in her nervousness.

“Seems like someone’s already alerted security,” Heejin muttered through the comms, “I’ll try and sabotage them back- fucking hell!” The last they heard from their navigator was static as they backed away from the looming threat.

“Okay, Yeojin, you  _ really _ should stay back this time,” Yerim warned, to which her friend agreed wordlessly. The men began to fire mercilessly at them, which Yerim responded to by stretching her hands out and halting the bullets in midair.

“Nice. Now watch this,” Yeojin smirked, raising a tiny foot into the air. Yerim braced herself for the impact that was yet to come as the small girl stomped on the ground, a  _ bang _ echoing through the room as a web of cracks formed from where she was able to make an indent with her display of strength.

“C’mon…” Yeojin pried at one of the large pieces of concrete that got loosened from a single kick, picking it up like it weighed almost nothing to her. “Choerry, duck!”

With a heave, Yeojin flung the piece of concrete towards the men like a frisbee, and whooped in glee as she watched them scatter.

In awe, Yerim had to stop herself from hugging the girl there and then, but decided against it as the opportunity for a safer approach presented itself to them. “We only have to distract them, let’s head back. They’ll follow-”

“Come on, Yer- Choerry! We can take them,” Yeojin huffed and sprinted forward without another word. Yerim called after her to no avail, reluctantly following suit. After seeing Yeojin in action, she had no doubt they could handle themselves. Not that it made her feel any better about the situation at hand.

“Yeojin! I’m serious, we don’t have to fight them, let’s-” A loud crash cut her off as Yeojin landed a kick into the wall. Sighing heavily, she wanted to chastise her friend, but-

Before she knew what was happening, the guards began to fire at them again, a flurry of bullets barreling right toward the two girls. Without hesitation, she flung some of them aside while blocking the rest, wincing at how much energy she was taking up to redirect so many of the tiny, but deadly objects.

“I  _ told _ you this was a bad idea-”

A chill ran down Yerim’s spine as out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blur whizz straight past her and towards her friend.

The next three seconds or so seemed to pass in slow motion.

She wasn’t sure how the bullet got past her defenses as it edged towards Yeojin, on a direct path towards where her heart was. Gritting her teeth, she hastily redirected the flurry of bullets she was already blocking towards the ceiling, not paying any attention to the pattering sounds as they made their impact on the concrete. Stretching out her right arm, her eye glowed a shade of purple so bright that it momentarily blinded her, as she concentrated all her power onto redirecting the bullet anywhere but to where it was headed. Hell, she would’ve taken that bullet  _ herself _ if she had the chance.

Just a little bit further. A little more and she could save her friend from certain death. Just a little-

“Ugh!” Yeojin grunted as she doubled over, holding her stomach. Her perception of the flow of time went back to normal as Yerim took in the scene around her. Her friend’s hands covered her abdomen as her white shirt was dyed a deep shade of red- she had managed to deflect the bullet slightly, but it _ wasn’t enough _ .

The men on the other side of the corridor never ceased their fire. Whirling around, Yerim directed her sudden burst of anger towards them, pausing the bullets in midair with one hand and pointing straight at the concrete above them with the other. She could feel the entire building quake under her influence as cracks formed above them, raining debris down on the men as they began to flee the scene. With a cry, Yerim brought chunks of the ceiling down, sealing off the side of the corridor they were in so that she could tend to Yeojin.

“Shit, man, that was cool,” her friend wheezed as she clutched at her wound, “You did… you did amazing,” she chuckled painfully, wincing at how badly her stomach hurt from the action. Yerim rushed to Yeojin’s side, not hesitating to push her hands down onto her wound as firmly as she could.

“Ouch, man! Cool it,” Yeojin breathed through gritted teeth.

“Jiwoo! Jiwoo, please, wherever you’re at- please come quickly,” Yerim pleaded into her comms, as Heejin echoed her.

Meanwhile, Hyunjin was panicking. She didn’t know why the voices of her teammates were suddenly getting projected through the speaker of her camera, as she was certain Heejin wouldn’t contact her vocally knowing she was mere meters away from a room full of guards. Yet here she was, hysterical voices booming out loud from the small device and every eye in the room now glaring at where she stood. 

Confusion was evident on their faces as they scrambled to find the source of the noise, Hyunjin did her best to rush along the beam unnoticed.

The shapeshifter was mere steps away from the exit when a heavy hand slammed painfully down onto her body, grasping her firmly and holding her out for all to see. She tried to pry herself out of the guard’s grip, only to feel his hand tighten around her.

“What do we have here?” He squinted, holding his other hand out to the tiny camera dangling around her neck.

Hyunjin had to think fast.

She squeezed her eyes shut as her whole body glowed, the guard cursing in pain as he released his grip on her. Her body shook with intense pain as she forced her bones to take the shape of a bird, flying away as quickly as she could through the nearest opening she could find.

She catapulted through the air aimlessly, trying her best to recall where the open window was located, which was much harder to do with pain clouding her senses and dozens of hands trying to grab her from underneath. She let out a chirp in shock as a bullet missed her by centimeters, before she turned the corner and sighed in relief. 

The window remained open; Hyunjin accelerated towards it.

She narrowly evaded another bullet as she shot through the gap, the crisp, fresh air never feeling so welcoming to her. Trying to block out the infuriated yells echoing from behind her, she pushed on despite the pain each movement caused her to feel.

The device around her neck had fallen silent, and now Hyunjin herself was out of danger she felt an overwhelming fear for her team.  _ Did something go wrong?  _ She cursed herself for not paying more attention to the panicked words of her friends, the only thing she could do now was find Heejin.

“Chuu, Yeojin is hurt. She needs you. She’s with Choerry at the end of Hall A-” their navigator’s voice crackled from their earpieces.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Jiwoo responded, “Choerry, keep pressure on her wound while you wait, I won’t be long.”

“I’m coming too.”

“Haseul…” Yeojin rasped out, hearing the sound of her sister’s voice through the comms, “Haseul, I’m okay-” she coughed loudly, her tiny body rattling as blood splattered out of her mouth and dripped down her chin.

“Listen to me, okay?” her sister’s voice became muffled by the static of the device while she ran as fast as she could towards their location, accompanied by the occasional shouts of the guards she knocked out in her desperation. “You’re going to be fine. We’re going to get you help. Hang in there-” she cut off mid-sentence, rounding a corner into the staircase.

Yerim felt herself tremble as Yeojin’s blood pooled around her hands. 

“Do you think this’ll make a cool scar?” Yeojin wiggled her eyebrows at Yerim, only to wince in pain. The older girl couldn’t help but smile at her, even though it was laced with concern. “It hurts like a bitch, though,” Yeojin chuckled.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Yerim flashed her a half-hearted grin, only for it to falter slightly as she tried her best to hold back her tears. She knew Yeojin was staying strong for her, and she had to return the favour.

“Why so serious?” The smaller girl punched her arm lightly, “you know I’m undefeated,” she stated with a smirk.

“Sorry, it’s just scary seeing so much…” Yerim trailed off, the reality of the situation finally dawning on her.  _ It’s okay, Jiwoo will be here any minute now. _

“You should see the other guy,” her friend joked, although it was already apparent that her breathing was growing more laboured.

Yerim smiled, edging closer to the girl to apply more pressure. This earned a pained ‘ow’ from Yeojin, but apart from that the two girls sat in silence. She preferred it this way, glad that Yeojin could preserve her energy.

Minutes passed, with still no news from Jiwoo. Yerim felt herself slipping into a daze until Yeojin’s voice pulled her back to reality.

“Yerim…” 

“What is it?”

“Where’s Haseul?” Yeojin mumbled, her voice barely audible as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

“She’ll be here soon, I’m sure. You know Haseul, she’s probably moving like a whole stampede or something.” Yerim fought to keep her voice steady as she forced herself to look her wounded friend in the eye, smiling weakly. She kept a firm pressure on the girl’s stomach, but she knew it was no use as crimson blood continued to flow from the wound with each weakened beat of her heart. 

Yerim could only hope for a miracle. “Everything will be okay, Yeojin. I promise,” she looked up and scanned the area in a panic, holding her breath in hopes that Jiwoo would turn the corner and everything would be okay again.  _ Where is she? _

A soft, pained groan pulled her from her thoughts. “Yeojin? I’ve got you, okay? I’m right here.”

Yeojin didn’t reply.

“... Yeojin?” Yerim breathed, her voice breaking.

Yerim knew the girl had gone, as much as she refused to believe it. She had felt as the girl relaxed beneath her hands, how the steady rise and fall of her chest had come to a halt. She bit her lip harshly, attempting to muffle her incoming sobs. Carefully removing her hands from the wound and daring to look at the girl’s face, her heart lurching at the sight. “I’m sorry,” she choked, pulling the limp body of her friend into her arms. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.” She repeated the words over and over, gently kissing Yeojin’s forehead and stroking her hair lightly.

Her head shot up at the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching where she sat. She wanted nothing more than to scream as Haseul’s worried face came into view, Jiwoo following a short distance behind her. “Haseul…” 

Relief flooded Haseul’s face as her eyes fell on the girls, only to be immediately replaced by fear at the sound of Yerim’s cries. She ran to her side, Yerim tore her gaze away from the leader’s face as she watched the realisation dawn on her.

“Yeojin?” Haseul choked out, stumbling to the ground beside Yerim and pulling the dead girl out of her grasp.

“No…” She turned to Jiwoo, who stood away from the group. “Jiwoo, what are you doing? Get over here and help her!”

Jiwoo inched forward, her eyes glossing over as she joined Haseul’s side and held her hand out to Yeojin’s wound. “Haseul… she’s…”

“No! You can save her, I know you can!”

Jiwoo swallowed the lump in her throat as her hand glowed a light peach colour above the wound. The bloodied wound appeared to close up at the contact, at that point Haseul thought that there was hope. It would be okay, and Yeojin would open her eyes any moment now-

Yeojin’s eyes remained closed.

The faint aura around Jiwoo’s hand disappeared almost instantly, their usually cheerful healer slumping to the side in defeat.

“What- what happened? Is she going to be okay?” Haseul urged, as Jiwoo looked her straight in the eye, opening her mouth to talk, only to divert her gaze to the bloodied ground.

Beside them, Yerim cried harder. “Haseul, please…”

“Yeojin… Yeojin, please wake up,” Haseul sobbed as she continued to shake her sister’s lifeless body, “please…”

“We have to get out of here, Haseul.” She had never seen Jiwoo this serious in her entire life, as she looked at her with eyes filled with grief and sorrow.

“No, she has to be okay. She has to be. Tell me she’s going to be fine, goddammit, do  _ something _ !” she gripped Jiwoo by the shoulders forcefully, struggling not to lose her composure as she glanced once more at Yeojin’s lifeless face, trying to ignore the pool of blood on the floor and how she  _ knew _ that the small girl was dead. Her fingertips glowed green as her eyes flickered dangerously, extending a hand towards the body, “if I try hard enough, maybe I can feel her life force again, maybe-”

“Haseul.” Heejin’s voice snapped her out of it, the usually aloof girl’s voice straining as she struggled to believe her eyes. “Get her out of there.  _ Now _ . Hyunjin is here with me, so you’re the only ones left.”

“No! I’m not leaving her here!”

“Haseul,” a different voice spoke over the intercoms, “Heejin is right, you have to come back. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“Hyunjin, what are you talking about? Yeojin is still in there, I know she is-”

“Let’s go!”

“If you won’t help, then leave,” Haseul sobbed, and the others could have sworn they felt the area around them begin to shake. “I’m not leaving,” she repeated in a whisper.

“Jiwoo, do something,” Heejin urged, as the healer stepped forward.

“I’m sorry,” the last thing Haseul heard was Jiwoo’s voice before a cold finger pressed itself to her temple. The next thing she knew, her world went dark and her body slumped onto the cold, tiled floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's all going to shit from here on. good luck, guys - iri
> 
> iri’s cc: https://curiouscat.qa/iridilea  
> bee’s cc: https://curiouscat.qa/sapphocity


	3. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haseul struggles to come to terms with the loss of her sister, hurting her friends and herself in the process. Heejin comforts Hyunjin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi please take this large chunk of hurt/comfort -iri
> 
> hi im bee - bee

“What are we gonna do when she wakes up?” A panicked voice spoke.

“I don’t know, Jiwoo can always put her under again if we need to.”

“Absolutely not! That was a last resort, Heejin.”

“I know… We have to be prepared for the worst regardless, there’s no telling how she’ll react.”

“Her reaction at the scene was pretty ‘telling’ to me.”

“What about Yerim? Has anyone checked on her?”

The group shook their heads, Jiwoo edged forward, “I think it’s best if we give Yerim some space for now. Knowing Yerim, she’ll come to us when she’s ready. As for Haseul…”

“Yes?”

Everyone flinched at the sound of the new voice, whipping their heads around to face her. Hyunjin appeared to physically cower behind Heejin.

“H-Haseul,” Jiwoo blinked forcefully, inching closer to the leader. “Haseul… I’m…”

Haseul scanned the room, her eyes dragging over each of her teammates with alarming intensity. “So it wasn’t a dream,” she sighed heavily, talking mostly to herself. The silence in the room was deafening as the group waited for something to happen, anything to break the dark atmosphere. 

“... Haseul?” Jiwoo reached her side, placing her hand gently on the older woman’s shoulder.

“It’s fine.”

“What?” 

“I said it’s fine,” Haseul pushed Jiwoo’s hand away, walking past everyone like nothing was wrong. “Did you… leave her there?” She asked quietly, refusing to turn around in case the rest of the group saw her distraught state.

“... Haseul, we wouldn’t do that.”

“So where is she?”

Later that day, the group stood solemnly as the home-made box was lowered delicately into the ground by Hyunjin and Jiwoo. Haseul stood back, her expression completely blank as she watched her whole world fall apart.

Yerim clung to Jiwoo, her sobs filling the silence while Jiwoo held her, breaking down herself. Heejin soon joined them, wrapping her arms around the two, her own face stained with tears. Haseul simply observed them, unable to process any words they were saying if they were even speaking at all. All she could focus on was the loud ringing in her ears and the way her eyes shook while she watched Hyunjin fill the hole. At some point, Hyunjin met Haseul’s gaze and offered a weak smile, a smile which Haseul didn’t return and she turned away and walked absently into the house.

The next days passed in a blur for Haseul, as she kept herself locked away in her room. Her friends were doing their best to support her in all ways they could, but she felt weak even sparing them a glance. It was unfair. It was unfair how they were all continuing with their lives while Yeojin was-

Yeojin was gone. Haseul had realised that, as much as her brain refused to believe it. She would never see her sister again. She would never again hear her sister’s boisterous laugh as she teased her. She would never feel the same annoyance creeping into her head as she and Yeojin had yet another petty argument. She would never bury her face into the small girl’s shoulder as she recoiled from the jumpscare in the horror movie Yeojin had talked her into watching. _She was gone, forever._

As she lamented the events of the past few days, hot tears escaped her eyes as nothing was there to hold them back. She still remembered how Yeojin would tease her for crying- _“you big baby,”_ she would smirk at her while reaching for the tissues to wipe away her tears.

Her emotions were everywhere, she felt everything at once. She felt hurt. She felt lost. And above all else, she felt anger.

A hesitant knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts.

“What is it?” She grumbled, Jiwoo entered following her voice.

“Haseul? I just wanted to tell you- _Oh,_ Haseul, I…” Without another word Jiwoo bound forward and engulfed Haseul in a tight embrace. Haseul reeled from confusion for a moment, before she remembered the tear tracks which were ever so prominent on her face. With a shaky exhale, Haseul pulled Jiwoo closer, wrapping her arms around the healer as she felt her own body shake from the surge of emotions. Jiwoo rubbed her back delicately, mutterring comforting words that fell on unhearing ears as Haseul fell apart in her arms.

They remained like that for what felt like an eternity, before Haseul’s sniffles finally died down. Jiwoo was convinced that she had fallen asleep in her arms, when she pulled back and turned away from the girl.

“Haseul-”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise, it’s-”

“So what was it that you wanted to tell me, anyway?”

“... We’ve received another mission from the Database. Everyone’s downstairs discussing if we’re going to do this or not.”

Haseul nodded, her eyes unfocused, before leaving without a word and pacing down the stairs.

“This is all a little too soon,” Yerim said in a small voice, so uncharacteristic for the usually cheerful girl. “I don’t think we should-”

“We should keep it together,” Haseul announced as she entered, “keep this going for her. It’s what Yeojin would want,” their leader grit her teeth, a steely look in her eyes.

Hyunjin spoke up, eyebrows furrowed in concern, “I get that, but I just dont think thats a good idea-”

“And what do you know? You didn’t know her like I did, like _any_ of us did. You don’t have the _right_ to tell us what’s a good idea and what’s not. And what’s more? _You don’t even belong here._ ” Haseul snapped at the girl, unaware of the weight her words held. Hyunjin froze at her sudden outburst, her eyes darting from Haseul to Heejin as her bottom lip began to tremble.

Heejin frowned at Haseul, opening her mouth to retort, but stopping herself as Hyunjin rushed past her and out of the room without another word. 

The rest of the girls looked at each other unsure of what to do next.

“I-” Haseul began, but Heejin stopped her before she could say anything.

“That was so out of line, Haseul,” she shot daggers at who was supposed to be their leader. Haseul opened her mouth to respond, only for Heejin to cut her off. “Save it. I’m going after her.” Her voice was as firm as her expression as she dashed out of the room behind her friend.

“Hyunjin?” Heejin called out as she burst out of the front door, being sure to shut it behind her. “Hyunjin! Where are you?” 

She eyed her surroundings carefully, taking note of a narrow alleyway not far from where she stood. Not that she had known Hyunjin that long, but she had certainly become accustomed to the girl’s habits.

She steadily approached the dark gap between the buildings, her suspicions confirmed as she heard a panicked shuffling in response to her approach. “Hyunjin, it’s okay. It’s just me,” she slowed her pace as she approached a familiar looking tabby, who only meowed softly in response. “I’m pretty sure this is you, dude, but can you please become human again so I don’t look like the crazy lady who talks to animals expecting a response?”

The tabby sat up, not looking in Heejin’s direction as the familiar yellow glow lit up their surroundings.

When Heejin’s eyes recovered from the intense light that always caught her off guard, her heart dropped at the sight of a very distressed Hyunjin curled up against the wall.

“Hey, you okay?” she said in the voice that she usually reserved for comforting someone who was upset and tiny animals- well, somehow Hyunjin qualified as both. Her friend didn’t respond, instead just breathing rapidly as she cast her gaze to the floor.

“‘m fine,” she mumbled.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, this happens, I’ll be over it in a bit.”

“What do you mean ‘this happens’?”

“Just- wait, I’ll- I’ll explain later,” Hyunjin struggled to stutter out between gasps for air.

“Take your time,” Heejin shimmied closer to the girl and placed her hand on her back in comfort. Hyunjin froze for a moment, her breath hitching, before leaning closer to Heejin who in turn wrapped her arm around the girl’s back.

“This actually kinda hurts,” Hyunjin managed to choke out something similar to a laugh, “I got manhandled by one of those burly looking dudes in the room while I was trying to get out. Bruised my entire rib cage. It hurts to talk.”

“Did you go to Jiwoo?” Heejin asked, slightly concerned.

“Nah. I figured she was too sad about Yeojin to help me. I checked and none of my bones are broken… I hope.”

“I think you should get her to have a look at you when we get back.”

 _Get back?_ Hyunjin flinched. “I don’t think I should go back, Heejin.”

“Of course you should! Listen, I’m sure she didn’t mean what she said. Grief makes people do stupid things, and Haseul’s not an exception,” her friend spoke softly, and she could tell that she was choosing her words carefully.

Hyunjin kept her eyes glued to the floor, remaining silent. They sat there for a while, until she finally decided to speak up, “what she said really hurt me, you know.”

“And that’s totally valid,” Heejin smiled at her, nodding slightly.

“How do I know this will last? Even if I do go back, I don’t want to lose another home,” the shapeshifter’s voice cracked.

“What do you mean?” Heejin asked, slightly confused.

“Hah. We’d have to get into my deep, dark past for that,” Hyunjin let out a wet chuckle.

“You mean your tragic anime backstory?” Heejin attempted to lighten the mood while her friend offered a weak smile. “For real though, dude, I have all the time in the world. If you need to talk about it, I’m here.”

“… Okay,” Hyunjin turned away from her friend, “but you’re going to have to stare at my back because I’m horrible at this kinda stuff.”

“That’s okay, man,” Heejin shrugged, “whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

_As a young child, Hyunjin always loved nature. She especially liked to play with the stray cats and dogs on the streets, and felt like they were the only ones that could truly understand her._

_Her parents thought she was a weird child- but with the new generation of super powered individuals on the rise, they had no choice but to accept it and raise her to the best of their abilities._

_It was all fine and dandy, a happily married couple living with their slightly eccentric daughter- they lived a comfortable life in a little house in the suburbs where Hyunjin could have fun with as many of her animal friends as she wanted._

_Until one day, they woke up to find that their child had disappeared._

_They looked high and low for her, but the only fruits of their labour was this funny looking tabby cat that hid under their daughter’s bed- one of the strays that she had accidentally let in, perhaps. It had tried to pounce on the wife, to her shock, as she caught it in midair and decided to set it down._

_Under usual circumstances, they would have more sympathy for the animal, but given that their only daughter was missing with no trace, they gave no hesitation in forcing what they thought was a stray out into the icy, Winter night._

_The cat stayed outside their patio for a few consecutive nights after the couple had placed it on their doorstep, shutting the door behind them while muttering, “Hyunjin would’ve loved that cat…”_

_It tried to jump up to the doorbell- an idea that sprung up from its experience as… as who? Mum would always come to the door when she heard the bell,_ _it thought back on the past, the wife’s voice as she announced “coming!” ingrained in its head._

_It would scratch at their door for hours, and sometimes the wife would bring out a bowl of cat food which they had lying around for Hyunjin’s strays. She never turned to acknowledge it, as sadly for the cat, it was too much of a painful reminder for the couple who eventually failed to even look at it, eventually going as far as to throw things at it just so it would leave._

_A decade later, Hyunjin found herself standing before the same door again, a door that she knew well despite spending much more time elsewhere. A tired, stressed couple greeted her at the entrance._

_Hyunjin couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face as she looked at them. Everything was finally going to be okay. “Mom, Dad-”_

_“Can’t you see we are tired?” Her Father stepped out from the house, looming over the girl. “Don’t you have anything better to do than play with our hearts in such a cruel way?”_

_Hyunjin shied away, tearing up. “B-but I am Hyunjin, I am your daughter, I’m sorry I was away so long, I was stuck in-”_

_“Well, we don’t. Sorry to say, you won’t be getting any reward money. It’s been many years, but we have accepted that she has gone. We’ve finally fixed our family, and despite everything we managed to feel whole again. Hyunjin is gone forever, so please. Leave us alone.”_

_Hyunjin knows now how bizarre it must be, not seeing your daughter in over ten years. Of course they wouldn’t recognise their four-year-old daughter in the teenage girl who stood before them._

_The young girl turned her back on the couple, who remained at their door. “I see…”_

_With a bright yellow glow, the girl disappeared. Where she once stood was now a familiar looking tabby. The same tabby her parents saw all those years ago, they were sure. Their mouths hung open in shock._

_“Wait!” Her mother gasped as she made the connection. “Hyunjin? Hyunjin, wait!”_

_But it was too late. They had already turned their daughter away._

_Hyunjin ignored their devastated cries as she fled into the night._

By now, the sound of Hyunjin’s sniffles filled the alleyway no matter how much she attempted to hide them. Shuffling closer to where Hyunjin sat, Heejin wrapped her arms around her waist and rested her chin on her shoulder. At this, Hyunjin fought even more to hold back her emotions, only to fail magnificently as a sob shook through her body.

Much to Heejin’s shock and confusion, the taller girl turned around and buried her face in Heejin’s shoulder.

“That was _so_ unnecessary, Haseul, I know you’re grieving, but it didn’t excuse you yelling at her like that,” Yerim shook her head disapprovingly, her usual kind tone disappearing as she raised her voice against Haseul for the first time. 

“But- I- She has no right to act as if she is as hurt as we are,” their leader attempted to defend herself.

“Did she really act like that, though? Of course she was going to be upset, even if she didn’t know her like we did. She’s new here, probably wants to become part of us- part of our family, when _this_ happens. Who knows if she’s even going to come back? You saw how closed off she was at first, we worked so hard to get her to open up to us and that just _destroyed_ all our progress!” Yerim’s voice became high and stringy at the end of her heated monologue, as she gasped for air. “Okay, I’m done,” she added quietly.

“I think it was uncalled for, too,” Jiwoo frowned, “at this rate, I think LOONA might just disband-”

“No.” Haseul was firm on this, shaking her head. “No _fucking_ way, Jiwoo.”

“What’s going on?” A deep voice sounded from behind the group.

Yerim turned around so fast she almost lost her balance, sighing in relief when she saw Heejin at the door with Hyunjin hiding behind her. It wasn’t very effective, as Hyunjin was a fair bit taller than the girl.

“Hey, guys…” Jiwoo cracked a hopeful smile at the two girls who’d just entered the room.

“Hyunjin!” Yerim shot forward, wrapping the confused girl in a hug.

“No, seriously. What’s going on? Why are we talking about disbanding?” Heejin asked again, her tone eerily calm as she assessed the situation around her.

“We thought you weren’t coming back,” Jiwoo looked at them softly.

“To be honest, I wasn’t initially planning to,” Hyunjin muttered under her breath, to which Heejin nudged her with her elbow. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Talk to them, remember?” Heejin hissed, “c’mon now. You can do it.”

Hyunjin inhaled sharply, stepped forward with her head lowered and her hands behind her back. “You’re right- I didn’t know… Yeojin… like you guys did, I probably shouldn’t have spoken on the matter, I’m sorry. Truth is, I’m not all that good with… well, people. I haven’t had many friendships and I’m still learning how to, you know, act around everyone.”

“You know you can just be yourself,” Heejin added, softly.

“Yeah, I’ll get there. I’m sorry for running out too, I hope I didn’t worry anyone. I know you are all dealing with a lot right now, and I kind of know what it’s like to lose those who are close to you. I’m sorry, Haseul.”

Without a word, Haseul stepped forward and engulfed the taller girl in a tight hug, “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Hyunjin,” she whispered into her hair, “it was really unfair of me. And I know you don’t have to forgive me-” she was cut off by Hyunjin’s sobs into her shoulder, the girl breaking down from finally being shown an act of comradery after so long. 

Haseul was slightly confused, along with everyone else in the room who at most have only witnessed Hyunjin spare small smiles here and there.

“It’s o- okay,” Hyunjin babbled, her voice choked up with tears, “ _thank you_.”

Dinner was relatively peaceful, Hyunjin had calmed down and was now sitting happily by Heejin while she devoured all the bread on the table, much to the happy confusion of Jiwoo, who was in charge of the food that day..

When asked why she liked bread so much, she merely responded with “it’s better than cat food,” before she continued stuffing her face.

“You’re not wrong,” Yerim spoke up, “cat food is gross. Don’t ask me how I know that.”

“How can you reveal that kind of information without expecting us _not_ to ask?” they could almost hear Yeojin teasing her friend- _oh._

Haseul’s smile faded as the atmosphere turned solemn. 

“... I miss her,” Yerim whispered.

“I miss her too,” Heejin put a hand on Yerim’s shoulder, although everyone’s eyes were set on Haseul, who sat back in her chair looking at nothing in particular.

After a painfully long silence, Haseul rose from where she sat, causing the others to flinch. 

“H-Haseul?” Yerim’s voice shook.

“It’s okay. I’m okay. Well, we all know it isn’t okay, but we can’t change what happened. I know she’s gone and there’s nothing we can do about it,” her voice was surprisingly steady as she continued, “however, I would personally like to continue what she started. I hope you will all choose to stay with me.”

“Oh, Haseul. Of course we would never leave you,” Jiwoo joined the older girl’s side and embraced her in a somewhat awkward side hug. Soon enough, everyone in the room joined in on the embrace, even Hyunjin. 

It was only when they finally decided to rest for the night that they broke apart, leaving for their rooms. Yerim was sure to double check- no, triple check that Haseul didn’t need any extra support before she broke contact with the leader.

“Haseul… I’m here for you, okay?” Yerim announced nervously as she reached the base of the stairs.

“Thank you Yerim,” Haseul offered a weak smile. “We will get through this together, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too,” Yerim practically catapulted into the older woman without hesitation, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tight. She eventually broke away and bid goodnight to Haseul. However, as she walked away, something caught her ear.

“I’ll make that bastard pay,” she could’ve sworn she heard Haseul mutter to herself, “they’re going to pay for what they did to my family.”

“ _‘Young Superhero Killed in Raid’_ ,” an orange haired woman read off a tablet, sighing at the headline as her associates filed into the empty seats in the meeting room. The atmosphere was somber as their boss shook her head, blatantly disappointed, “an eighteen year old kid. What was she thinking?”

“But Vivi, it says here that her team was facing off against Blockberry,” another girl with bright cyan hair piped up, “she held her ground pretty well, considering she only had super strength.”

“That’s true, Gowon,” Vivi nodded, “her team _was_ able to get classified info on them. Makes our job easier.”

“See, I was right when I said to put that tip in the database,” her right hand scoffed quietly, “even though we were risking getting _Jinsoul_ of all people to help us.” Hearing her boss sigh, she immediately backtracked, “sorry.”

“They’re a very… interesting group, I must say,” the orange haired woman’s eyes glinted as she read through the article, “I think we might see some familiar faces.” Looking towards a timid black haired girl, she tapped her chin as she contemplated their options.

“Olivia, see if you can find more information about her group. Maybe we can recruit them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> curiouscat.qa/iridilea  
> curiouscat.qa/sapphocity
> 
> pls tell us what you think, next chapter will be... worse -iri


End file.
